Liladhar Upadhyaya

CONSTITUTIONAL and parliamentary practices are evolutionary phenomenon. They do not follow prescriptive measures because politics as a driving tool is dynamic, not static. Politics moves forward as per the demand of time and context. The ingredients of democratic governance have also evolved in a course of time in Nepal following the political movements and subsequent democratic practices. So, it takes time to establish constitutional convention. Latest political development of government formation through parliamentary practice has been proved as positive step to bolster parliamentary system despite some criticisms.
Amidst the political uncertainty in the aftermath of the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR) on December 20, 2020 and invalidation of the unification CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre as Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli himself sought confidence vote in the federal parliament on May 10, 2021. The PM’s decision to obtain the trust vote was linked to the bold, risky and much-criticised move to dissolve the House following the intense intra-party feud within the then NCP. The opposition leaders slammed the move to dissolve the HoR, terming it unconstitutional. Oli, also the chair of NCP, had enjoyed near two-thirds majority in the parliament. He had played a pivotal role in unifying the two big communist forces in May 2018.

Moral pressure
The Prime Minister might have decided to face the House for two reasons. First, he was under moral pressure to retain the post from the strength of the House which was once dissolved by himself and second, he wants to give answer to opposition leaders regarding the legality of the post in the wake of the split of ruling CPN by the Supreme Court verdict on March 7, 2021. The dissolved House was also reinstated by the Apex Court on February 23, 2021. Speaking in the House, Prime Minister Oli said, "I am seeking the confidence vote to counter the criticisms of opposition leaders."
President Bidya Devi Bhandari called a session of the HoR for May 10 at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Oli garnered only 93 votes out of 232 lawmakers present in the meeting and 124 stood against him and 15 stayed neutral. A mature politician, Oli was well aware of the mathematics of the federal parliament after the promulgation of the new constitution. So, the coalition of opposition groups was unlikely to garner the majority votes against Prime Minister Oli if they would table the no-confidence motion as per Article 100 (1).
Opposition forces desperately tried to topple the Oli-led government but the composition of the House could not help them garner votes to oust the PM. It occurred when 15 lawmakers belonging to a faction of Janata Samajbadi Party-Nepal (JSP-N), led by Mahantha Thakur, stayed neutral. Altogether 124 votes that went against the PM were not sufficient to remove PM Oli. Nor did this nurture the rhetoric of opposition parties that were roasting the PM over the House dissolution. They could say nothing against the PM's decision to seek confidence vote at a time when they were more vocal against him since the disbanding of lower House.
Most of the leaders diverted their voices to inoculating people and saving their life from the COVID-19 pandemic. Former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, who was much vocal against PM Oli tweeted, "Let's concentrate on political economy to contain COVID-19 from the exercise of power politics." The President appointed Oli to the post of Prime Minister under Article 76 (3) of the Constitution of Nepal on May 13. Till date, all hurdles were cleared for him to become the PM for the third time while his opponents failed to pick a name of new prime minister, who could garner majority votes in the support of two or more political parties representing in the House in accordance with Article 76 (2) of the constitution.
Prime Minister Oli came to the political scene with simple gestures. His logics are sharp and mind-blowing blended with usual phrases and idioms. However, his political moves are unpredictable. That's why former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, speaking in the House on May 10, said, "Oli could speak one and act another, a character that I don't have."
This time Prime Minister Oli gained ground to lead the government by following legitimate constitutional procedures which did not only deal a blow to the opposition leaders but also a gave fitting answer to those who were questioning the legitimacy and moral basis of the Oli government. "KP Oli has proved himself a shrewd politician again in the games of forming government," reads a tweet of Dr. Bhattarai. This move also became a breakthrough to maintain party unity within ruling UML by bringing disgruntled Madhav Kumar Nepal-led faction to dialogue.

Unique practice
With the promulgation of the federal democratic republican constitution in 2015, Nepal adopted improved parliamentary system. The provision of Article 100 (4) states, "provided that a motion of no confidence shall not be tabled until the first two years after the appointment of the Prime Minister and until another one year after the date of failure of the motion of no-confidence once tabled." It is a unique practice which has been incorporated in the constitution to sustain parliamentary as well as constitutional practices that suffered setbacks in the past with the games of making or breaking the government.
The constitutional provision is the product of lessons learnt from immature practice of power politics in developing countries like Nepal. Prime Minister Oli's decision to seek confidence votes from the House amidst confusions and allegations is an appropriate step to uphold principles and norms of parliamentary system by creating the legitimate ground to lead the government constitutionally. Let's hope, Oli-led government will be successful to fight against the pandemic of COVID-19 and safeguard the life of people.

(Upadhyaya is Associate Editor at The Rising Nepal.)